Suisse stage 6

Gorka Izagirre once again showed his considerable and multi-faceted talent in today's sixth stage of the Tour de Suisse. The versatile Ormaiztegi native, who excels in uphill sprints, short time trials and medium mountain stages in equal measure it seems, broke away with talented duo Chavanel and Madrazo approximately halfway into the 156km stage between Tobel and the HC climb to the Malbun ski resort. The trio quickly opened up a 5-minute gap but it was always going be a big ask to stay away given the hardness and length of that final climb. Once the climbing got underway the break's gap had been reduced to 2:30, meaning it was virtually mission impossible to stay away. Izagirre gave it a go, though, and easily dropped his breakaway companions. The 23-year-old kept going for several kilometres and kept the leading group at bay for an impressive amount of time, but was eventually reeled in within five klicks of the line. Once caught, Izagirre stayed with the favourites for a kilometre or so before dropping off and settling into a more reasonable rhythm. He held on to clock the 18th best time at just 3:23, and advanced to 18th overall heading into tomorrow's demanding stage. Azanza and A Pérez both had impressive ascents to come home 32nd and 33rd at 6:03, while R Pérez crossed the line alongside A Schleck and co. at 14:15 in 56th place. Fernández, Aramendía, Sesma and Castroviejo (who's still struggling with a knee injury) cruised home with the gruppetto at 21:44.